SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The 20th-ranked University of Notre Dame hockey team defeated No. 8/8 Michigan State University, 4-1, Friday night inside a sold out Compton Family Ice Arena.
The Irish kicked off the night with the man-advantage following a protocol violation against the Spartans during warmups. Despite not being able to capitalize on the opening powerplay, Notre Dame held possession through the first few minutes and dominated the offensive zone.
Notre Dame was flagged for a tripping penalty at 11:03 of the first period and found themselves shorthanded but an odd-man rush with Justin Janicke and Hunter Strand nearly gave the Irish the first goal of the night on the disadvantage.
After 20 minutes of play and a powerplay for either side, the game remained scoreless and the two teams headed to their respective locker rooms for a brief intermission.
The Irish came out powerful in the second frame, firing the first five shots of the period on the Spartan net but could not break Trey Augustine in the MSU net to keep the 0-0 stalemate.
A holding call against the Irish at 6:43 of the second found Notre Dame back on the kill. The Spartans drew the opening goal with a shot off the crossbar just two seconds into their powerplay opportunity to take the 1-0 lead.
It took the Irish just 26 seconds to answer when Ryan Siedem’s bouncing shot beat the MSU netminder for the 1-1 score.
The Siedem goal would stand as the last of the period and the two teams skated off the ice tied 1-1 through 40 minutes of play.
The two teams returned to the ice as a big third period loomed. Halfway through the final period of play, Michael Mastrodomenico fed a pass over to fellow blueliner Drew Bavaro who one-timed a shot past Augustine for the eventual game-winner.
A few minutes later Cole Knuble net the insurance goal with 4:32 to play in regulation to give the Irish the 3-1 lead before Trevor Janicke net the final goal of the night with an empty net tally at 18:51 to secure the game one victory over MSU.
In the Irish net, Ryan Bischel finished with 30 saves off 31 shots faced, including 12 saves in the final period to pick up his 14th win of the season.
GOALS
- Ryan Siedem scored his third goal in an Irish sweater Friday night when he swatted a pass from Zach Plucinski on net, beating the Spartan goaltender for the 1-1 tally. Justin Janicke also tallied an assist on the play.
- The Irish net the game-winning tally off the stick of Drew Bavaro at 12:04 of the third period. Trevor Janicke gave the puck up to Bavaro in the offensive zone who sent a pass over to Michael Mastrodomenico who took three strides before sending it back to Bavaro for the one-timer into the back of the net.
- In the defensive end, Jake Boltmann ate a puck to keep a shot by the Spartans away from Bischel. The blocked shot set up Patrick Moynihan on the rush who sent the puck up to Brennan Ali in the neutral zone. Ali found Cole Knuble at the blue line, beating two defenders before burying a shot over the blocker of Augustine to make it 3-1.
- Trevor Janicke found the back of the empty net with 1:09 seconds to play in regulation to seal the fate and give Notre Dame the 4-1 victory. Knuble and his brother Justin Janicke were each credited with assists on the play.
KEY STATS
- Nine individuals highlighted the box score Friday night, led by Trevor Janicke, Cole Knuble and Justin Janicke with two points each.
- The Irish blocked 19 shots in the contest to the Spartans’ five. Four Irish defenders tallied a pair of blocks in the contest, including Jake Boltmann whose second block of the night led to the third Irish goal.
- For the first time all season, shots were even in the contest with the Irish and Spartans trading 31 shots on net.
- Ryan Bischel finished with a .968 save percentage, registering 30 saves on 31 shots faced in the win.
- With a plus-three on ice rating Friday, Ryan Siedem led the team in the category.
UP NEXT
The Irish and Spartans close out their regular season series Saturday night at 6:05 p.m. Following tomorrow’s contest, the team will host their annual autograph session behind the student section.